Kataang Wedding
by Words Ink
Summary: It's days before Aang and Katara's wedding. These are the trial and errors of planning marriage, and it's not easy, especially when the groom is the Avatar!
1. Chapter 1-Old Advice

Kataang Wedding: Chapter 1- _Old Advice_

The morning atmosphere flashed a brilliant orange and red, as the sun eclipsed the former darkness. It was void of artificial noises. Only the soft swish of the trees and the low grumbles of the air bison could be heard. That was how Aang preferred it, peaceful yet not silent.

As he sat down below his former master's statue, he breathed in the nostalgic dust. How long ago it seemed. Monk Gyatso would have been baking a dozen or so fruit pies, ripe for the pranking. The laughter of the other monks could be heard infusing with the chatters of the lemurs and grumbles of the sky bison. If airbenders labeled the sounds and rhythms of life, they'd have called it bliss.

But he didn't sneak out early in the morning to reminisce, though. Pressing his fingers together inversely, Aang freed his mind of all things material. Of anything tangible. Breathing slowed and mind quickened. A shimmering outline of a person emerged from Aang, resting a few feet away.

"Aang, it's good to see you. Do you need something?" Roku asked. His face still wrinkled as Aang remembered, except now he was a transparently deep blue.

"Well, there is something I've been meaning to ask you…" Aang hesitated before asking his request, in fear of knowing that his wish may not become a reality. "I was wondering- I was hoping to see an old friend of mine, a _family_ member really. He died a long time ago, so he must be in the Spirit World baking fruit pies, right?" Just like that, the last sentence spilled out of Aang's mouth. Pain dribbling out with each syllable, wishing he had never even thought about it.

"Ah, yes Gyatso," Roku chuckled, his eyes wandered above for a moment, remembering their shared friend and past. "You can, as you talk with me, speak to your master. All you have to do is look deep within yourself and think of the clearest happiest moment that you share with Gyatso."

Roku's outline shimmered, fading in and out. "Before I go Aang, tell Gyatso that he still owes me a mango flavored fruit pie and a round of Pai Sho!" His laughter reverberated, creating a small draft after he dissipated.

"Okay, just-just think of the clearest happiest memory of Gyatso and me," Aang thought out loud, which, always seemed to help him when was in times of distress and need. He breathed deeply, his movement slowing down. Aang closed his eyes, concentrating on the memory. Pictures flew across every direction in Aang's mind. He saw many that were acceptable but not the best. Then, without even second guessing, he found it.

Another shimmering outline formed itself around Aang until it manifested into the kind-hearted, masterfully wise Monk Gyatso. "Aang…" Gyatso couldn't even form a sentence, his voice cracked; a few tears streamed down his garments. "It's-It's so good to see you. You've grown so much, and quite the beard you have might I add." A famous 'Gyatso Chuckle' filled the atmosphere with warmth and love.

Disbelief and happiness painted itself upon Aang's face. "Gyatso…" the Avatar whispered, even saying his name out loud felt surreal. "I have something to ask you, something that no one else I know could know the answer to."

Gyatso smiled, his lips thin but his emotion spread out so wide, "Of course Aang, anything." Clouds above shadowed the sun, allowing Aang to see Gyatso better. His face still shined with the airbending mastery; it was as if Gyatso had never even left.

"Well, I'm engaged to my friend-uh, I mean my girlfriend…and um, our wedding is in a few days and…" Aang, the young and bashful Avatar, couldn't reason with his fumbling words.

"And you want to know how to perform a traditional Air Nomad wedding? Haha, yes Aang, I would be more than honored."

Gyatso explained to the young Avatar the intricacies and rituals of an Air Nomad wedding. It seemed like a lifetime that they had been talking and laughing. It was like old times, blissful times. Aang bowed deeply to his master when the explanation finished. "I hope you understood what I told you!" another beautiful laugh escaped from the air nomad's mouth.

The Avatar nodded his head in answer. He knew his time was fading away with his master. Tears were at the edge of Aang's eyelids.

"Remember Aang, you can _always_ speak to me because I am not only here," Gyatso pointed to his head, representing his mind. "But, am most importantly here," Gyatso stretched out his bony finger, pointing to his pupil's heart. "I'm afraid it is time for me to depart."

"Wait, Gyatso…do you want to know the memory that I thought of when calling for you?" Aang wanted to test his master; of course he was sure Monk Gyatso already knew the answer before Aang could think airbending.

Gyatso's outline shimmered slowly, "Why, of course!" His last sentences flowed through the nomadic wind as the monk faded, "It was the memory of when I gave you your airbending tattoos. I would have chosen that one too!" And all too soon, a ghost of Gyatso's laughter haunted Aang, leaving him alone with nature and the tears that fell away from him.

Aang remembered what Roku has asked of him, "Gyatso…Roku wanted me to tell you that you owe him a mango flavored fruit pie and a round of Pai Sho…" No one replied, of course. He was just talking to thin air, the same air that Gyatso and him were breathing and bending. But, still, to Aang it felt like it was only just yesterday….


	2. Chapter 2-Cold Feet and Nightmares

Kataang Wedding: Chapter 2- _Cold Feet and Nightmares_

The sound of shuffling feet was the only perceptible noise as Aang paced back and forth in his room. It was a day before his wedding and the sly and smooth pre-wedding nerves had made its way into Aang's mind. He had everything prepared to the minute detail, exactly as Monk Gyatso had instructed him to do. But, he was scared to know he'd be leaving behind a former life, molding a new one with Katara. As a nomad, he was used to constant motion, flowing with the natural beat of life. He knew-or at least felt- that marriage with Katara was a natural rhythm but, something gnawed at the back of his mind, whispering subconscious doubts and repressed fears.

He thought back to his time with Gyatso, how happy he was to see his old master. Sometimes, in the dead of night when the Avatar was awake and only the sound of Katara's soft breathing could be heard, he would think of how life would have been had he not ran away. He shook his head at those thoughts, though. Gyatso always reminded him to live in the present, and not to dwell on the past. That was one of the key mantras of a nomad. Aang sighed; his emotions drained his body of energy.

He lay down on his bed, arms stretched out and legs drooped down. "Oh Spirits…" Aang sighed as his eyes closed.

A cool breeze slapped Aang's face as he woke to a brilliant sunshine. He was in a field, underneath a thin pale blanket. His hand felt the smooth touch of Katara's hand. Sitting up he held it tenderly, kissing it softly. "Why are we out here?" Aang asked, looking around he saw the sky was teeming with various aerial creatures, some sky bison even. It all felt too surreal to him, the sun blared too brightly and the grass seemed too green.

Katara's laugh pierced the air, sending Aang a shiver down his spine. He wanted to believe that everything was natural here, but he knew it wasn't. "Don't you remember we're on our honeymoon?" Her voice buzzed through Aang's ears, as if she was speaking through a static-induced radio. "What's wrong Aang?" Katara asked as she saw the disbelief and subtle horror on the Avatar's face, putting her clammy hand against his face.

"Nothing…nothing," Aang mumbled, patting Katara's hand as he put it down. He needed time to breath, time to process the thousand thoughts that were presently rushing through his mind. The Avatar lay flat on the blanket; it felt smooth, seemingly real. "Hey, Katara?" Aang was treading dangerous waters now; he could feel his mind being bogged down by a liquid version of fear.

"Yeah?" Katara breathed, lying down next to him, curling her fingers through opening of his hands.

"What…what was our wedding like? I'm so tired I can't remember it, but I'm sure it was something special, right?" His words hesitated at the precipice of his lips, falling out all at once, a jumbled splattering mess.

"Well," Katara began, but as she was continuing her sentence, the birds stilled and the atmosphere hushed. "It was marvelous—" Suddenly Katara's voice cracked and attenuated, her words blended together into one chilling sound. "Mar-ve…Marve—lo" her mouth contorted into grotesque shapes as he continued to speak, and before Katara could utter another word with her icy cold voice, she dissipated into thin air, right before the vulnerable Avatar's trembling eyes.

Tears streamed down Aang's face as he screamed for Katara. Regardless of whether he mastered his emotions, the blue arrow on his head flickered into a searing hot white shade until it faintly dimmed the air around him. A gust of wind shot Aang twenty feet into the air, his feet blending into the tornado below him. Trees joined in on the chaotic dancing of air, some of the sky bison were trapped in it as well; Hell hath no fury like an Avatar scorned.

There was no Katara to save him now, he knew that. But he also knew that everything in this world, or whatever it was, was not real. Aang could see himself from the outside in: the ground decimated from the powerful gales, the animals helplessly strewn across the field like abused ragdolls, and worst of all…the peaceful air nomad turned into an emotional fury. Controlling his breathing and thinking soothing thoughts of the past, Aang regained control, his emotions in check.

"I'm sorry Katara. I'm sorry Monk Gyatso. I'm sorry…" Aang simply muttered names and apologies in hopes of an emotional atonement. It wasn't like him to let his emotions get the better of him; of course it wasn't normal for him to be getting married either. Sitting on the floor the exhausted bender hugged his knees.

The force on his body increased, he stared to panic. It tightened and tightened until his chest felt like it was going to implode. Aang snapped his eyes open to find himself in a (one sided) warm embrace with Katara. "Aang, are you all right?" her soft voice, her naturally beautiful and _real_ voice, lulled Aang into a peaceful state.

He just kept holding onto her. "Yeah, I-I'm fine…" his words muted as he buried his face into her hug. "I just-I'm scared of the future…" the words trailed off as Aang didn't want to speak anymore. He was exhausted of it all for the night.

"I know, Aang. And that's okay. You must be scared more than me being a nomad, I'm sure it's not easy having to settle in one aspect of your life." Katara let the words sink into Aang before she continued. "And-and if you want we could postpone wedding for a little while?" Her voice didn't sound necessarily sad but it had the undertones of reluctance.

Raising his head from Katara's embrace the Avatar shook his head. He didn't want his fears to stop him from one of the best moments of his life. He knew that if Monk Gyatso were here, he would have wanted Aang to be happy. Even, even if that did mean leaving a portion of his life behind. He wasn't abandoning it; he would simply be adding a new chapter into his introspective and ever changing life. "Katara, I just have one question," The Avatar smirked before continuing, "Which flavored fruit pie would you like to feed me tomorrow?"

"Well Aang, it wouldn't be fun if I told you, now would it?"

"No I guess not."

Their laughter filled the air, spiraling so high that somewhere in the Spirit World even the smiling Monk Gyatso could hear them.


End file.
